facebook icon facebook icon facebook icon
  • About
  • ADS
  • Masthead
    • Editorial Board
  • Submission
  • Subscribe
The Wellesley News -
  • News
    • Contract ratified by Wellesley’s Maintenance and Service Employees Union
      Contract ratified by Wellesley’s Maintenance and Service Employees Union
    • News in Brief
      News in Brief
    • Wellesley adapts to end of race conscious admissions
      Wellesley adapts to end of race conscious admissions
    • Senate Report
    • News in Brief
  • Features
    • Professor Spotlight: Dr. Faisal Ahmed
      Professor Spotlight: Dr. Faisal Ahmed
    • Spotlight: New Professor Kathryn Winner
      Spotlight: New Professor Kathryn Winner
    • Spotlight: New Professor Lucia Nhamo ’11
      Spotlight: New Professor Lucia Nhamo ’11
    • Humans of Wellesley
    • Archives
  • Opinions
    • France’s Abaya Ban Unveils Its Own Misogyny
      France’s Abaya Ban Unveils Its Own Misogyny
    • Editorial: In defense of affirmative action
      Editorial: In defense of affirmative action
    • I am an NCAA champion: we should end college recruiting
      I am an NCAA champion: we should end college recruiting
    • Editorials
    • Letters to Editors
  • Arts
    • The SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strikes: What’s happening in Hollywood?
      The SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strikes: What’s happening in Hollywood?
    • Digging into Hozier’s Unreal Unearth: “De Selby (Part 1)” and the Population of Loss
      Digging into Hozier’s Unreal Unearth: “De Selby (Part 1)” and the Population of Loss
    • Summer Releases to Help Usher in Fall
      Summer Releases to Help Usher in Fall
  • Sports
    • Gauff and Richardson Shatter Expectations
      Gauff and Richardson Shatter Expectations
    • Student Athlete of the Month: Kennedy Mayo
      Student Athlete of the Month: Kennedy Mayo
    • No image
      What even is a BORG and why does it matter?
  • Multimedia
    • Photo of the Week
      Photo of the Week
    • “Stronger Together” Rally with Chelsea Clinton
      “Stronger Together” Rally with Chelsea Clinton
    • College Government Vice President 2016 End of the Year Report
      College Government Vice President 2016 End of the Year Report
    • Podcasts
    • The Wellesley Snooze
  • Projects
      • The News in Conversation
    • About
      • Contact
      • Join the News
      • Masthead
      • Editorial Board
    By Valida Pau News, News and FeaturesMarch 18, 2022

    El Table opens for the first time in two years

    The El Table signage inside the co-op. Photo courtesy of Hannah Hirsch

    In the basement of Founders, for one day last month, you could find El Tablers zipping back and forth from the grill to the coffee pots again. On Feb. 23, 2022, the student cooperative El Table reopened its doors for takeout orders from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the first time in almost two years, after the pandemic shut the College down in Spring 2020. 

    Founded in 1904, El Table started as a small table by an elevator and grew into an organized student-run co-op café. 

    The reopening process took lengthy negotiations between the College administration and the town of Wellesley. Once El Table passed the inspection and was deemed fit for opening, they started to open El Table officially. 

    “It is great to be open to serve the community, and it has really been a long time [since we last opened],” Co-General Manager Jill Foye ’22 said. 

    Despite the team’s high spirits, Foye described the first few days as “a little rocky.” 

    “Some of our members have never been in El [Table], or just a few times, [they] had never worked in this setting,” she said. 

    However, Foye also praised how the new staff adapted quickly and learned El Table’s culture, both as a community and a business. 

    “There is certainly a learning curve,” Alisha Shahriar ’25, a new El Tabler, said. “We have to learn how to store the ingredients properly and handle allergies and contamination, about different certifications, and of course, how to make different sandwiches like in a shop.” 

      El Table had to restrict gathering and dine-in options because of health concerns, so it is not yet close enough to the thriving environment it used to be prior to the pandemic, according to its members.

    Foye painted a vivid picture of the co-op before 2020.

    “It [was] not just a place to stop by, but a place to linger at, listen to the music, and see people coming in and out,” she said. “Professors would also come here during class or sometimes for office hours, and students [could] buy coffee off their tabs.” 

    El Table has come back strongly with a returning audience of nostalgic upperclassmen and new students ready and willing to partake in the tradition. 

    Ashley Jang ’22 described El Table as a “special space and community.” 

    “I came here a lot during my first and second year and I would see my friends here and run into somebody,” Jang said.

    “My friend works here, and we all went to study and vibe there,” Shahriar said. “I love how sustainable and supportive to Wellesley siblings [it is] and I know this is an environment I want to be in.” 

    As administrators are reviewing COVID-related policies, Foye hopes for an eat-in option and more in-person opportunities for El Table. 

    “We would love to have people inside and eat and be a place for people to spend time and hang out,” echoed Shahriar. 

    “There is no community like El Table. We want to be an inclusive and welcoming community and foster connection, beyond [what] a restaurant [can do.] We [want] to be a true place where people come together,” Foye said. 

    Share on

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Google +
    • LinkedIn
    • Email
    Previous articleStudents report food poisoning from dining halls and call on administration to act
    Next articleStudents Question Compensation for Orientation Student Leaders

    You may also like

    Contract ratified by Wellesley’s Maintenance and Service Employees Union

    News in Brief

    Wellesley adapts to end of race conscious admissions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    The Wellesley News

      SECTIONS

    • News
    • Features
    • Opinions
    • Arts
    • Sports
    • Multimedia
    • Projects
    • About

      ABOUT

    • Contact
    • Join the News
    • Masthead
    • Editorial Board

      RESOURCES

    • Advertising
    • Submission
    • Subscribe

      CONTACT US

    • Contact
    COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS